I am entering DSLR for the first time,always had a P&amp;S. I mostly will be photographing family, several sports shots (kids), and some nature, distant shots. What would be a good start for a choice of lenses for the Canon EOS 30D to start with?

What sports? Be specific. Different sports require different things - a lens for basketball is very different than a lens for soccer. You're not likely to find a lens that will do both.

some nature, distant shots

Again, please elaborate. When you say nature, do you mean animals (if so what kinds) or do you mean landscapes? Again, 2 entirely different types of lenses required for each.

It is not likely that a wildlife lens or a sports lens would also be your primary walk-around lens either. So, unless you have quite a bit of money stashed away, you may have to accept some limitations and buy gear that will meet most of your needs, but probably not all.

It sounds like you just want some decent all-round performers to cover a wide range of focal lengths.

For that I reckon you should look to cover 17 or 18mm at the wide end up to 300mm at the telephoto end, and for the sake of convenience I would suggest using only 2 lenses to cover that range.

A good combo is the EF-S 17-85 IS USM and the 70-300 IS USM. They are IMO a very nice match for the 30D as good all-rounders. Add a decent flashgun and you should be set to go of a wide variety of general photography.

Specialist photography of any sort demands different tools, but two lenses like that should allow you sufficient room to decide on your own what you need to get down the road.

If those lenses are too expensive, then you could substitute the Sigma 17-70 + 70-300 APO; similar range, similar sharpness, but without the IS and without the USM.

I am entering DSLR for the first time,always had a P&amp;S. I mostly will be photographing family, several sports shots (kids), and some nature, distant shots. What would be a good start for a choice of lenses for the Canon EOS 30D to start with?

Hi there Diesel_1 if you have shot the sports and kids with your point &amp; shoot, may I suggest that you look up the exif data and see what kind of focal length you normally shoot in, that may give you a starting point for the focal length that you now need.